Which brush/ comb?

[~*Regina*~]

Hello .

My question is what do you use to groom your BC's? Willow's fur is soooo thick and I struggle when I try and use the comb. I just want something that will go threw her fur without pulling her.

Thanks!

[Bullet87]

Walmart carries a Furminator knock off type brush called a Shedzilla. It was only $20 at my Walmart. It's got rounded tips and I find that it works great on my BC. He's got really curly hair on his back and its hard to comb through, unless I use the Furminator style brush I have. Big bonus that it is a brush and deshedder too!

 

Here's a link for the brush I'm talking about. http://bit.ly/Ivq5j2

[Carson Crazies]

What is this groom you speak of?

[Sue R]

What little combing out that I do, I do with a rake. I find it's gentle on the coat, gets out the dead and shedding undercoat, and useful in dislodging (with care, as always) small mats that form when the undercoat is shedding. I use a coarse and a finer plain metal comb (the kind with rotating teeth is what I happen to have) for removing some finer mats and hair that the rake does not remove.

 

I've tried slicker brushes (useless on my dogs), hair brushes (ditto), and even tried a Furminator (sold it on to someone else with a really hair dog or two).

 

I always come back to the rake, but my three are not terribly hairy. Two are medium rough-coats with light to medium undercoats, and one has very long tail and butt feathers but almost no undercoat to speak of (my California hippie boy, I guess).

 

Sometimes, you just have to try a few things to find what works for your particular dog and its coat. Our dog supply shop will let you try out different items and exchange or refund if they don't work for you and you bring them back in clean condition.

 

Best wishes!

[Doodledog]

I have a shepherd collie mix and he's got super super thick hair and its really long. On him I first go over his backend and places with really long hair/feathering I find it takes out most of the knots really easily, than I take a undercoat rake and go over him and that takes out more knots that were missed, but it takes out alot of dead hair on him, than I go over him with a comb and that takes out the rest of the dead hair and by than there are no knots (well not really you will find some small ones). I love this process for him I find the furminator type brushes do nothing for his hair it just makes it dry dead and like split ends. On my lab the fuminator thing works good though. I also do that process on my grandmas golden and it works awesome on her.

 

Here is an example to show how thick his hair is.

[Sue R]

What a handsome dog! And hairy!

[Alchemist]

Duncan is rough-coated, with a medium undercoat. I usually brush him at most once a week (more often during shedding season). A slicker brush is what I use 99% of the time; seems to get his undercoat just fine. I also have a Mars Coat King (purchased from Amazon) that I use that's pretty good at removing his undercoat without cutting the outer coat.

 

What I think you want to be careful of is cutting the outer coat. It takes longer to grow, and helps keep vegetation from getting stuck in their coats. For that reason, I would *never* shave a double-coated dog. Duncan gets his underbelly shaved during the summer, as this helps keep him cool, but never anywhere else.

 

I have heard that Furminators will cut their outer coat - that they're better for dogs with a relatively short outer coat. I've heard other people swear by them.

 

In other words - so much depends on your particular dog's coat.

 

[Sue R]

We all already knew that Duncan was handsome! Love the flowery background color!

[~*Regina*~]

Wow, maybe I over groom Willow, lol. I comb and brush her every other day, She looks so nice after im done .

I'll go out and take a look tonight for some new grooming tools, hehe.

 

Another question for you since we are on the subject... I want to start cutting Willows fur myself because the groomers is getting to expensive. Do you just use regular scissors or thinning shears on the BC's? Also how should a BC be groomed? I dont want to cut things that shouldnt be cut .

 

Thank you!!

[Sue R]

I guess unless you are into the whole show ring mentality, there is no "right way" that a Border Collie should be groomed other than with health (getting out mats, getting rid of dead undercoat, trimming long hair on feet to avoid collecting snow, etc.), practicality, or personal preference in mind (some folks like bathed and brushed dogs, others prefer a more natural coat and skin).

 

My dogs have never had shampoo baths (other than spot-cleaning for anything particularly malevolent that they have rolled in), get raked and combed only a few times a year, get minor trimming in the groin area (where some get tiny mats) and sometimes the feet to avoid ice/snow balls, are regularly either hosed off or encouraged to dip in the stock tank to cool down and remove mud and manure, and that suits us all just fine. Others prefer their white to be snowy and coats to be pristine.

 

I am grateful that none of my three have a heavy or thickly-undercoated coat, and so minimal maintenance keeps them clean and tidy enough to live in the house, even though they work on a cattle farm.

 

Do what suits you and what is healthy for your dog - over-brushing and over-bathing can dry the skin and coat, make it brittle, and break off guard hairs.

 

Enjoy!

[rushdoggie]

I groom my Border Collies (and Papillons) by first going over the whole dog carefully with a pin bush, removing very loose hair and looking for tangles and debris. I dislodge and/or clip out tangles if I find them. I then take a comb and line comb in sections, which usually removes most of the loose hair and finds any additional tangles. I use this opportunity to look closely at their skin for irritation or dandruff and any tiny woulds. If they are really wooly I sometimes line brush with a slicker.

 

I then trim the furry feet between the pads (so they track in less crap) and sometimes trim the hocks just because I am there and it looks neater. If they have a furry butt I do a "sanitary trim" and remove any hair around the tush that poo can stick to.

 

Then a nail clip and dremel and they are done.

[geonni banner]

I don't Shampoo Sugarfoot either, unless she rolls in something disgustingly stenchful. I use a slicker on her when she comes back from running in weeds or tall grass. She has very little undercoat, so it takes about 2 minutes. But she does have three areas that I "clean up" with a thinning shears or a razor-stripper, because they are magnets for foxtails and burrs. The hair in these places is super-fine and sort of downy.

[PSmitty]

I don't think it would help with a long, thick coat (all my dogs are short coated), but my latest find is the Zoom Groom. Alex has so much undercoat, and I could use the Furminator all day, every day, and still get hair off of him. However, he absolutely hated it, and as others said, I think it cuts the outer hair, too. So I asked the groomer where I take him to get his nails done (don't ask) and she said to try the Zoom Groom. Gets a ton of hair off and he doesn't seem to mind it nearly as much as the Furminator. I'm not much for doing grooming at all, just trying to cut down on the "tumbleweeds" in my house.

[Lewie'sMom]

I use a plain ole pin brush on Lewie. It seems to work best on his fluffy butt. I just have to be careful with the pins when doing areas that aren't as thick or to use the brush side so as not to cause him discomfort. I've tried the Furminator before but it seemed too harsh on his coat, like it was breaking the fur.

 

[mum24dog]

I have heard that Furminators will cut their outer coat - that they're better for dogs with a relatively short outer coat. I've heard other people swear by them.

 

The Furminator works great on my 4 short coated dogs but doesn't get deep enough into the undercoat of my furball so I normally use a rake on him.

[mum24dog]

Another question for you since we are on the subject... I want to start cutting Willows fur myself because the groomers is getting to expensive.

 

What do you want to cut?

[PSmitty]

I hope nobody minds the hijack, but if I've damaged Alex's outercoat with the Furminator, will it grow back out normally? I don't know that that's what I've done, but I have been wondering about the change in his coat, unless it's just an aging thing?

 

The first picture is what his coat used to look like and the last one, what it looks like now. Hardly any longer guard hair, and lots of undercoat peeking through...

 

 

[Liz P]

I am not a fan of the Furminator because it seems to damage fur. For a rough coat I use a pin brush and for a smooth coat a shedding rake. I think I brush my dogs maybe 3 or 4 times a year at the most. I can't remember the last time I bathed them, except for my youngest who got car sick as a tiny pup and needed some deodorizing.

 

PS, when I do brush them I either use a horse mane and tail spray or a kids detangler spray.

[Liz P]

PSS. Groomer? Cutting? BCs shouldn't need anything beyond the occasional bath and brush out. I have shaved my older, super rough coated dog for the summer with clippers and a blade guard, but that's about it.

[alligande]

I only bath mine when nesacery such as bad bowels, or very salty from swimming and that might be a rinse and a few times a year if they are grimy. My double coated boy gets regular brushing when he is shedding badly. The othe one I brush him to keep his feathers untangled. I have never put scissors on one and the other had the underside of his feet trimmed this winter only because we were competing on rubber mats at an agility trial. I love their natural feathers and do not think they look right all neatly trimmed.

 

We have always joked that they have Teflon coats, our late old lady had a GSD coat and she needed baths and lots of brushing often just to be able to share a house with her.

[Beach BCs]

I couldn't tell you the last time Georgia had a bath. It's been forever. She has a nice coat though; nothing sticks to it. Tex swims constantly, but an actual bath? Maybe two or three times a year after he's trudged through the marsh mud. For brushing it use a pin brush for a quick once over and then an undercoat rake. Seems to get the loose stuff off.

 

My first BC had a crazy thick undercoat. Nothing got through it! You could immerse her in water and when you pulled her out and moved her fur out of the way, her skin was still dry. She ended up with hot spots so we did clip her. It ruined the look of her coat; never grew back right. Unless it was for a health issue I would never ever do it again.

[~*Regina*~]

Well she is a BC mix and her fur grows like crazy. They usually do her tail, legs, belly, ears and between her toes. I wish she didn't need a cut .

[SS Cressa]

I usually trim my dogs paws and ears. Baths they get maybe every 3-4 months and at minimum twice a year.

 

What are they doing to the tail, belly, and legs? Are they just making them look neat? Cutting the ragged ends?

If i feel like it (maybe once a year) my dogs get a whole once over. I love pretty looking dogs. The prettiness never last long though and as "punishment " one of my dogs will go looking for the nearest mud hole to explore and then pounce on me.

[border_collie_crazy]

depends what you want, I just like my dogs looking tidy, so I tidy feathers and trim the feet. in the summer I shave Happys inside the rear legs to make her butt fur less thick..this is just because she has a mud obession, she can shed the mud out easier if I thin out that thick fur as well as keep twigs and branches from getting entangled. I have shaved her down before too, but I prefere her fur long lol. for brushes I mostly use a slicker, but I dont really brush her all that often exept to help her get the mud out. or if I need an extra presentable dog lol

[teganandjessmom23]

I am a professional groomer and I shave mine in the summer. You are not suppose to shave a border it can ruin the coat. I still shave mine and others every year. The furminator is awesome but will ruin the coat as well. Slicker. rake and a comb are the best. Maybe some thinning shears and coat king if really thick. The furminator if used to much will hurt the skin. A lot of groomers use it to much and the dog bleeds and they never tell the owner. It ticks me off. I bathe mine every 3 weeks but I use professional soap free shampoos that you can't buy in a store.